No word on suspect on Effort shooting; neighborhood wary

Saturday

Feb 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

That the identity and whereabouts of the person who allegedly shot a woman at her Chestnuthill Township home still hadn't been made public as of Friday remained a source of anxiety for the woman's neighbors.

CHAD SMITH

That the identity and whereabouts of the person who allegedly shot a woman at her Chestnuthill Township home still hadn't been made public as of Friday remained a source of anxiety for the woman's neighbors.

Around 1 p.m. Thursday, state police responded to a call from a home on Whisperwood Court, a street in a relatively well-to-do neighborhood.

At the home, police found Bernadette O'Reilly, 50, with a gunshot wound to her abdomen. Police listed the incident as an attempted homicide.

O'Reilly was taken to St. Luke's Hospital. Hospital officials said they couldn't comment on her condition.

Since the shooting, police have released no new information about the shooter, giving rise to rumors in the neighborhood.

"Right now, it's kind of freaky because no one really knows what happened," said Ashley Honey, 20, of Effort, who said she lived not far from O'Reilly's home.

Honey said crimes are unusual in the neighborhood.

Indeed, the area where the shooting occurred, in a tucked-away corner of Effort, is by no means a place where crime looks rife.

Towering trees are omnipresent, and the homes are large and kept. Some have handmade mailboxes out front, and almost all of the houses on Whisperwood Court have posted signs warning would-be perps that the home is protected by a home-protection company.

The house where the shooting occurred has a Christmas angel in the front yard and a neon green Volkswagen bug in the driveway.

Police usually let members of the public know if a suspect is still on the loose and if the public is in danger. But not this time. The investigating officer, Trooper Bruce Wesnak, didn't return two calls seeking information Friday.

Neighbors say that until they know more about the shooter, they feel compelled to keep an eye out.

"We've been calling each other, looking out for each other since this happened," said one neighbor. "We're just on guard right now."